Member Advice on Choosing Childcare

Choosing a nursery for your child is one the hardest thing to, I have been working in Childcare now for 10years, being a nursery nurse in the rooms with all ages of children and then being deputy manager and then nursery manager. I would say before you go to look round a nursery look at the nursery's Ofsted inspection report, this is available online. Book an appointment and go at a time that suits you, most nurseries will encourage you to come either at 10:30am or 2:30pm. This is because the nursery runs the smoothest at these times. When you get there look at the children do they look happy, have they got clean noses! (yes some nursery nurses do not see that a child has got a snotty nose)! What is the nursery routine, where do they get food from, look at the kitchen ensure that it is clean. How many trainee nursery nurses do they have, from my experience in the past from unreputable nurseries hire lots of trainee nursery nurses to keep the staffing costs down so I would say 2 trainees for a 50 place day nursery is fine. Check that the nursery is clean and in good order. Look at the security procedure at the nursery, you will get a feel for the nursery as you walk round and it is always best to go by word of mouth the nursery's reputation is paramount. In my opinion nursery life is good for most children it prepares the children for school, as well as giving them life experiences, it encourages children to share and enhances the children's social skills no end if you choose the right nursery